<p>Applications to BU jump 23%
Officials credit university's high rankings in national publications</p>
<p>By Debbie Swartz
Press & Sun-Bulletin</p>
<p>VESTAL -- The number of freshmen applying to Binghamton University is up 23 percent -- to 21,726 -- from this time last year, university officials said.</p>
<p>The increase is across the board, said Brian Hazlett, senior associate director of admissions. So far, he said, increases include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>A 48 percent increase in out- of-state applicants;</p></li>
<li><p>A 22 percent increase in in-state applicants;</p></li>
<li><p>A 10 percent increase in local applicants.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The eventual number of freshmen applications for 2007-08 is expected to exceed the 2006-07 total of 22,853, Hazlett said.</p>
<p>"We'll come in well over our mark from last year," he said.</p>
<p>The number of applications includes only those received through Jan. 11, he said.</p>
<p>Though the deadline for applications was Jan. 15, the school will continue to receive applications, Hazlett said, and those with impressive factors can still be admitted in the fall.</p>
<p>Both the number of applications received and the number of students accepted at the institution have risen in the last several years, he said, but typically at a slower pace. In 2002, the university received 18,315 applications and accepted 7,687. In 2003, they accepted 8,521 of 19,076 applications -- a 4.2 percent increase in applications and a 10.8 percent increase in accepted applications.</p>
<p>By 2006, they admitted 28.3 percent more -- or 9,861 freshmen -- than in 2002.</p>
<p>The numbers speak for the university's reputation, Hazlett said, an example of which is illustrated in its ranking in publications -- including Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine -- which named BU the best public college value for out-of-state students, he said. The magazine also listed BU as the fifth-best value in the nation for in-state students.</p>
<p>Tuition, room and board for out-of-state residents is $21,048 per school year, while New York state residents pay about $14,788. After deducting average financial aid benefits, those numbers dip on average to $16,260 and $10,000, respectively.</p>
<p>Most of the out-of-state applicants came from New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida,Hazlett said.</p>
<p>"Our reputation is starting to grow," he said.</p>
<p>University President Lois B. DeFleur said the increased visibility of the university is a result of not only its ranking in publications, but also its nationally recognized programs, its award-winning faculty and other achievements.</p>
<p>"We have worked hard at this in many different ways," she said.</p>